


Interlude in an Elevator

by 852_Prospect_Archivist



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Episode Related, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 06:00:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/794673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/852_Prospect_Archivist/pseuds/852_Prospect_Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After his earlier brush with death in an elevator, Blair has a hard time keeping cool on this ride...until Jim comes up with a way to distract him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Interlude in an Elevator

WARNING: This is a same-sex pairing story, also known as slash. If you don't like same-sex stories then don't read it. You *must* be 18 or older to read this story. If you're not 18 or older, what the heck are you doing on this list anyway? 

DISCLAIMER: Jim Ellison and Blair Sandburg belong to Paramount and Pet Fly Productions, more's the pity. I promise to give them back ... eventually. No harm intended and no profit being made. 

Thanks to both my beta readers for encouragement and support. They saved you from horrors you don't even want to know about. 

Permission given to place in the Sentinel Slash archive. Anyone else, please contact me first. 

Whew! 

## Interlude in an Elevator

(Because Dead Drop Needed a Sequel)

by Thalasia  


Blair Sandburg began working on slowing his breathing as soon as they stepped out of the office on the forty-eighth floor to go back down. He'd made it up the long elevator ride by concentrating on the suspect his partner would be talking to and silently reviewing all the information from the case file he'd read earlier. Jim counted on him to catch little details of behavior that others might miss, and Blair always tried to pay attention to keep that trust. The interview hadn't panned out, though. Jacob Harrison had a convenient and all too plausible alibi. He'd been at his nephew's wedding rehearsal the evening of the burglaries, in plain sight of a minister and two dozen members of the wedding party. They'd have to look elsewhere for the two million dollars worth of stolen gems. 

Blair stopped in front of the polished metal of the elevator doors, waiting while Jim pressed the down button. He let his gaze drop to the plush burgundy carpeting beneath his boots. It's just an elevator, he told himself. They go up, they come down. Hundreds of times every day, thousands of times. This one wouldn't contain a bomb or be run by a maniac trying to cover up a crime. Jim's sharp glance in his direction told him his partner had picked up on the increase in his heartbeat. 

"You okay, Chief?" he asked quietly, looking worriedly into Blair's face. 

"Fine. Just ... you know." 

"Yeah, I know." Jim laid one warm hand on his shoulder and gave it a small squeeze, the most intimate contact they would allow themselves in public these days. Ever since they'd become lovers. Blair smiled at that thought, and Jim grinned back at him. 

"How about some lunch next?" Blair asked, trying to divert himself from the tingling feeling that had started to spread through his body at Jim's look. 

"I could eat." 

The quick lift of Jim's eyebrows and his leer did nothing to help. Had it gotten warmer suddenly? It certainly felt warmer. Blair resisted the urge to pull his collar away from his neck and fan himself with the fabric. "Food," he hissed. 

"If that's what you want." Jim's expression became innocent, and Blair turned away to hide his smile. His partner could be exasperating at times -- and passionate and romantic. What more could he ask for? 

The elevator dinged and Blair stepped back as a middle-aged woman in a severe blue suit stepped off. She wielded her briefcase like a weapon of destruction, and he moved another step away, glad she didn't have an appointment with him. No, the administrators at the university were bad enough, not to mention Simon. He had to worry about more than enough suits already. Jim held the door and followed him inside, then pressed Lobby on the keypad. 

Blair leaned against the railing, letting his fingers curl around it, and studied his surroundings carefully. Dark wood paneling, navy carpet not quite as thick as the rug in the hallway they'd just left, emergency box containing a phone. He watched the numbers decreasing on the panel by the door. An Asian man carrying a stack of boxes got on at forty-fourth and off again two floors down. Blair watched carefully to make sure he took all the boxes with him. Sure, he still got a little nervous in elevators, especially the ones in very tall buildings like this one. It was just a little phobia, though. 

One long arm slid around his waist, drawing him close to Jim's body. He looked up and managed a smile for his partner. "I'm okay. Well, I will be as soon as we're back on solid ground again." He took a deep breath, searching for a safe topic of conversation. "Where do you want to go for lunch?" 

"How about home?" 

Again the tingle. God, what that man could do to him just with a look. "Do we have time?" 

Jim leaned down until he could breathe his answer into Blair's ear. "I always have time for you, babe." 

A thump and a jerk cut off Blair's response as the elevator stopped moving between twenty-nine and twenty-eight. Not again, not again. He couldn't go through that another time. His heart rate doubled instantly and he tried to keep from gasping for air. You can breathe just fine, he reminded himself sharply. Don't be childish about this and stop hyperventilating. The elevator just stopped. 

"It's all right, Chief. It'll start back up in a minute." Jim gave him a quick squeeze and reached across for the panel by the door. It opened, revealing a black phone, and the detective held it to his ear. Blair could hear the faint sound of ringing. Why wasn't someone answering? 

The ringing stopped after a bit. "Yeah, we're stuck in elevator four." Jim listened for a minute. "Uh-huh. As soon as you know something, okay?" He hung up, turning back to Blair with a reassuring smile. "They're working on it. Somebody'll call back in a minute and give us an estimate of how long we'll be here." 

Blair forced himself to nod, though he was sure his face revealed his fear. He knew he wore his emotions on his face, and Jim could read him like the morning headlines most of the time. Which wasn't a bad thing when he wanted something, like a hug or hot sex. He just wished he could keep the darker emotions to himself sometimes. On the job, Jim didn't need to worry about him being scared or angry. That could interfere with keeping them both alive, a definite priority. 

When the phone rang, Jim snatched it up. "Yeah." He listened intently for a minute, frowning. "Do what you can, okay? No, we're fine. Two of us. Right." He hung up and looked down at Blair ruefully. "Maintenance says it could be as long as an hour. They'll try to hurry, but it looks like some of the wiring is fried." 

Blair tried to swallow the huge lump in his throat. "Fried wiring?" 

"Hey, it's not going to fall. I promise. They do have brakes on these things." Jim looked around, spreading his hands. "And no bombs in sight. Just you and me." 

"You're right. I'm being a little paranoid." Blair slid down the wall to sit on the floor. After a second, Jim joined him. 

"You can be paranoid. Paranoia can be very useful." 

"Maybe if I used it a little more, I could stay out of trouble." 

Jim looked at him for a minute, then grinned. "Nawww. Trouble follows you. What did you do before you had me around?" 

"Ran like hell, mostly." A groaning noise made him tense and grab at his partner's arm. "What was that?" 

"Nothing. We're fine." Jim bounced up and down a few times. "See?" 

"Don't *do* that." 

"Hey, hey. I'm sorry. It's okay. We're okay." He took another quick look around and then leaned over to capture Blair's mouth with his. The stopped elevator, the suspects they still had to interview today, and the test he really had to write tonight dropped away because he had drifted into the stratosphere. Jim's arms went around him, heat pressed against Blair's chest, and a large hand slid beneath his hair to cup his head gently. By the time Jim released him he'd almost forgotten how to breathe. 

"Oh." 

"Like that?" 

"Mmmm." Jim's kisses could reduce him to monosyllables on a bad day. When he really got into it, Blair sometimes found himself nearly speechless. Whatever Jim had learned from past lovers, kissing was one of the best things. He put both hands on his partner's chest, holding him off until he could rub enough brain cells together to remember what could be a problem here. Oh yeah. "Camera," he said. 

"No camera. No microphones either. I already checked." Jim laid his own hands over the pair on his chest. "Just you and me and the phone, Chief." 

"Okay." He let Jim slide his hands up around the other man's neck and surrendered to another kiss. "Yeah. More." Jim's hands unbuttoned his shirt and slid it from his shoulders, then tugged his T-shirt out of his jeans. He released Blair's mouth long enough to pull the shirt over his head. 

Blair fumbled with the buttons on Jim's heavy denim shirt as his lover's tongue traced the outline of his ear. Jim nibbled delicately at his earlobe, then nipped lightly. The earlier tingling had returned and resolved itself as an ache centered in his groin and spreading outward. Blair groaned, arching upwards as Jim worked his way down to his right nipple. 

"You're killing me," he panted. 

Jim chuckled against his chest, making the sensation flare almost unbearably for a few seconds. "What a way to go, babe." 

The older man's hands began to work at his belt and Blair tried to rally his thoughts. They couldn't. Not here. Not in an elevator. "Wait." He swallowed, trying to get his brain to focus. "This is a bad idea." 

"Someone thinks it's a good idea." 

Jim's hand eased beneath the waistband of his boxers, derailing all thought except of sensation. Heat. A growing need for release. Blair gave in without further protest. "Please," he begged, pushing against Jim's hand. 

"All you had to do was ask." Jim leaned over him, grinning, and stole another kiss. "Lift up for me." Blair obliged, toeing his boots off as Jim slid his jeans and boxers down, pulling them from his legs. He sat back for a moment to admire his handiwork, then moved down to capture Blair's weeping erection in his mouth. 

Oh God. He was going to die from pleasure. Right here. They'd find his naked corpse wearing a stupid grin that they'd never wipe off. Jim sucked hard, bringing him partially off the floor. Every nerve ending in his body had attached to one particular part of his anatomy. The part Jim just deep throated. His partner chuckled again, making Blair writhe as the sound reverberated around him. "Please, Jim, please, oh please." 

Impossibly, the feeling increased in intensity. Nothing could conceivably feel this good. A supernova exploded behind his closed eyelids, driving away the ability to even plead. Blair shattered, pieces of himself flying away into space beyond the limits of the solar system, utter bliss consuming every single part. 

He re-assembled slowly, becoming aware of the hard floor beneath his hips, the heat of Jim's body just above him, the chill air on his bare skin. After perhaps a million years he opened his eyes. "Oh man." 

"Feel better?" 

"Uh-huh." Blair had reached up to drag his lover down again when the elevator lurched and began to move. He froze, looking up into Jim's panicked eyes. Oh shit. He was naked, in an elevator, in downtown Cascade. He grabbed for his jeans and boxers, dragging them up and over his hips, in his haste barely able to make his fingers work enough to zip the pants. The T-shirt Jim held out came next, over his head. He didn't bother to tuck it in. The flannel shirt he slung over one shoulder while the other man buttoned his own shirt. 

"Hurry, hurry." 

"I *am* hurrying." Blair jerked at the ties on one set of boot laces while Jim worked on the other. The numbers on the panel continued downward, slowly but smoothly. The leather strip resisted, knotting, and he tugged at it frantically. 

"Here. Give me that." Jim held out the other one, already untied, and Blair passed it over then bent to tug the boot onto his right foot. 

The elevator stopped at the lobby, dinging to signal its arrival and Blair looked at his partner. Now what? Jim's shirt tail hung loose and Blair wore only one boot. The doors opened smoothly and a heavy-set man in a gray pin-striped suit held them open with one arm. 

"I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience. Are you two all right?" His voice trailed off as he took in their odd appearance. 

"Limp!" Jim whispered fiercely into Blair's ear as he wrapped one arm around his partner. He smiled brightly at the man outside. "Fine. Just a little shaken up." 

Blair leaned against him, keeping his head down as he hobbled slowly towards a bench beside a potted evergreen. Shoulders trembling with suppressed emotion, he let the older man lead. If he looked up he would lose it and start laughing. Then Jim would kill him. The detective lowered him onto the green padded surface, giving him a quick stern look along with his other boot. Blair slipped it on quickly and tied the laces, trying to swallow the near hysteria growing within. From a few feet away, he could hear Jim trying to ward off the gray-suited man with assurances that they were both fine. 

When it got quiet, he risked looking up again. Except for the receptionist on the far side of the lobby they were alone. "So, what do you want to do now?" 

"Go to lunch," Jim growled. 

That almost set him off again. Blair let his eyes drift down to the erection beginning to grow in his partner's pants. "But you just ate," he said, knowing the mischief in his eyes belied the innocent tone. 

Jim grabbed him by one arm and hoisted him to his feet. "That's right, and guess what I'm having for dessert." 

The laughter escaped as Blair bolted for the truck.   
  


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